California Briefing / NEWPORT BEACH

Mother charged in baby-dumping

A Laguna Niguel woman who allegedly left her newborn in a trash bin was in court Tuesday facing charges of trying to kill the baby girl.

Shawn Kelli Sepulveda, 38, appeared at the Harbor Justice Center, where the judge signed an order barring her from seeing her three children. Her arraignment was delayed to Sept. 8. She faces charges of attempted murder, child abuse and endangerment.

Sepulveda's neighbors at an upscale Hidden Hills apartment complex in Laguna Niguel have said the newborn's 11-year-old sister found the baby Saturday morning in a trash bin just steps from her family's front door.

The infant was taken to a hospital for treatment of minor medical problems but was expected to fully recover, sheriff's officials said.

Sepulveda's two other children, the 11-year-old and a 14-year-old, were turned over to their father.

Sepulveda, who is being held at Central Women's Jail in Santa Ana, faces life in prison if convicted on the charges.